God Is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World (Paperback)

Description

In the twenty-first century, religion remains the single greatest influence in the world. But, argues religion scholar Stephen Prothero, persistent attempts to portray all religions as different paths to the same God overlook the distinct human problem that each seeks to solve. For example:

Islam: the problem is pride / the solution is submission

Christianity: the problem is sin / the solution is salvation

Buddhism: the problem is suffering / the solution is awakening

Judaism: the problem is exile / the solution is to return to God

God Is Not One is an indispensable guide to the questions human beings have asked for millenniaand to the disparate paths we are taking to answer them today.

About the Author

STEPHEN PROTHERO is the New York Times bestselling author of Religious Literacy and God Is Not One, a professor of religion at Boston University, and a senior fellow at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History in Washington D.C. His work has been featured on the cover of Time magazine, The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, National Public Radio, and other top national media outlets. He blogs for CNN's Belief Blog and writes for the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, USA Today, The Washington Post, and other publications. Visit the author online at www.stephenprothero.com.

Praise for God Is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World…

“enormously timely, thoughtful and balanced” -Los Angeles Times

“God is Not One is 2010’s must-read for anyone religiously illiterate….Don’t know much about the world’s faiths? Get a copy now.” -The Daily Beast

“Provocative, thoughtful, fiercely intelligent and, for both believing and nonbelieving, formal and informal students of religion, a must-read.” -Booklist

“An urgently needed and very nicely done corrective to politically correct nonsense.” -Rodney Stark, author of Discovering God: The Origins of the Great Religions and the Evolution of Faith

“Stephen Prothero has done it again. This is a powerfully-written, paradigm-shifting book. How religious differences can be a bridge of cooperation rather than a bomb of destruction is one of the most important challenges of our era, and Prothero is as good a guide as you will find.” -Eboo Patel, founder and executive director of Interfaith Youth Core and author of Acts of Faith

“This book could well be the most highly readable, accurate, and up-to-date introduction to the world’s major religions.” -Harvey Cox, Hollis Research Professor of Divinity, Harvard University, and author of The Future of Faith

“A very much needed book!” -Miroslav Volf, Professor, Yale University, and author of Exclusion and Embrace